How can mirrors be real if our eyes aren't real? I was born in Mumbai but I lived for about 29 years in Gujarat, and I had undergone the real voyage of discovering the "spirit" of Gujarat. The industrialists, businessmen, law makers, religious heads, journalism, media, politicians, medical practitioners, and the common man's "vibrant" Gujarat...

The powerful cyclone in 1999, the flood in 2005, and the 7.7 magnitude‎ earthquake of 2001 which shaked Gujarat but it couldn't shake and reform the hearts of Gujaratis because the following year (2002) was a year of violence, mishaps and a series of incidents which shames humanity.

The recent vigilante violence on dalits in Gujarat again triggered a question: "Is there really a civil society in Gujarat?" After the 2002 Godhra carnage and the communal riots in 2002, Gujarat is again in news, and this news is quite significant from the perspective of 2019 elections because we have a potential candidate to re-rule the country who has strong bounds and links with 2002. Politicians have played with the emotions and dignity of Muslims. I hail from Gujarat but I dare to say that, apart from the poor muslims and non-muslim common man (who has no time to get involved in this fuss), the land of non-violent Gandhi (who was born in Porbandar, Gujarat) has hardly anyone on the macro level who is free from the violent instinct. This does not mean that everybody is communal but my post can't spare those who have remote controls of administration and the ace of spades in their hands.

They introduced high speed bullet train, they are thinking of "vibrant Gujarat", they have vision 2020, they claim to make the cities of Gujarat as mega cities like Paris, but on the ground level there is a vacuum and intellectual poverty in cultural organisations.

Every other day a new propaganda arises on the canvas of state or national politics which gives re-birth to Muzaffarnagar, Kunan Poshpora and now the series of attack on non-Gujaratis. Gujaratis are good businessmen, they are peace loving people, I love Gujarati food, but I will still again copy and paste all which I wrote above after mentioning this because facts don't change. I am in Hyderabad and I will still remember the "great Gujarati" who was leading the military action and operation polo in Hyderabad in 1948.

So what you think about #India2019 ?

These links will narrate rest of the story..

https://bit.ly/2EFdS0n

https://bit.ly/2pY1UEL

https://bbc.in/2OvbEFo